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Very few things in this world are associated with the words “the good, the bad and the ugly” ; all at the same time

Try Renault : Think of the good – Renault F1 team and its glory days with Fernando Alonso ; The bad – The Logan fiasco ; The ugly – Yet to launch anything, especially when sister company Nissan is all gung ho about its Micra

But then there has to be light at the end of the tunnel and in this case, the light is bright and called the “Renault Fluence”

First Impression : This is one good looking car (very French) and does justice to the segment ( Skoda Laura territory), so lets get to the car

Design : Not revolutionary but very Fresh. The 2010 upgrade follows the new Renault design lines and kind of flows (it certainly deserves a coupe version). The front and rear lamp clusters are wierdly nice. One gets a stare like with the Jaguars but nice indeed

Interiors : Who says Renaults are small curved boxes? Move on and get inside one of these. Its very generous inside the Fluence. The mantra here seems to be love (with plush) at first sight. Considering this is a very important model for Renault as far as developing parts of the blue planet are concerned (It is manufactured and loved in Turkey and Argentina), this is a very nice bet

The openly theme continues with the dash ; Its new and functional, also very neat (Alas there comes the French taste) The rear is comfy too. Add to this the HuGe trunk and the entire thing is packaged in light shades of leather

Engines and Transmission : Renault no matter what have always had great muscle under the bonnet. Its continues for the Fluence – 1.6 and 2.0 litre Petrols generating 110 and 140 horses but the gem in the house is Renaults Diesel offering :- a 2.0 litre dCi developing a varied 85, 90, 105 & 110 bhp (one each for the chauffeur, commuter, wife and the kid inside of you). Its smooth and does the job very well

Transmissions are a 5 speed manual and a nicely deviced 4 speed Auto

Whats in store for us : Firstly, Renault have tied the disaster called the Logan around Mahindra’s neck ; Fluence looks good, has superb diesel options and is coming to India

Appeal : Vibrant…… Speaks for itself (Say no to Japs and Germans)

Bottomline : This is one of the cars for which one says ” I’m in love with this thing” . And sometimes love trumps the realities and specifications . So go for it…. Fall in love